For what it's worth, I consider myself to be a very adept Windows user, having started on DOS, and I don't have an Admin password in Windows 7. I'm the sole user of this computer, I don't run any shady software, and I don't visit any shady websites. I haven't gotten a virus yet. In the Linux world, the security of the admin account is much more important than it is in Windows, and I don't think there's anything wrong with not setting an admin password in Windows.

You're missing the point entirely. No one is forcing you to upgrade to Vista or Windows 7. No one from Microsoft is putting a gun to your head preventing you from running XP or 98. They're merely saying that if you choose to buy a new machine, you're not going to be able to get an XP license on it. If you have an XP license and want to put it on the new computer, then more power to you, but Microsoft's not going to keep updating it.

My point is this: Microsoft is being absolutely no different from any other company. Does Apple let you buy a new computer with System 7 on it? No, of course not, but that doesn't mean that if you have a Mac from the 90s, they're not going to let you use it any more. Same thing with Photoshop. Adobe doesn't care if you use an old version, but if you need to buy a new copy, you'd better believe that they'll only sell you CS4.

The point is, that if companies are using software that only runs on XP, and they have machines that are used to run that software already, then they can keep it, just as they have been. The only thing Microsoft's doing is saying that new hardware comes with their new OS, and I don't see why everyone's getting their panties in a bundle over it.

Thank you. I'm so tired of people blindly hating on Microsoft. After years and years of people accusing them of being built on outdated code, they finally try to shed the past and finally abandon XP, everyone attacks them. I just can't understand how people are bitching at Microsoft for not letting them run a decade old OS that's soon to be not supported anymore. Does anyone buy a new Mac and throw a fit when they can't get OS X 10.0 on it? No, that'd be idiotic. If you want to use your old software on your old hardware, that's fine, but to request an outdate OS on a new machine is a hassle for the manufacturer, and you should be charged as such.

sslk writes: From the Telegraph.co.uk:
"A photograph of a giant snake apparently swimming up a river in Borneo has fuelled speculation that a creature like the Loch Ness Monster is stalking the island"
Check out the photo in the original story here [telegraph.co.uk]
And the Guardian declaring it an obvious but entertaining fake here [guardian.co.uk]
And finally a slightly more humorous commentary on the alleged photographs here [livescience.com]

C jab er cy cb p.k.po.v
Really, though. Dvorak isn't all that difficult when you get the hang of it. As for switching between the two, I use Dvorak for IMing and Word Processing, and QWERTY for everything else, all on the same machine, and have no trouble at all switching between the two. Yes, it sucked tremendously for the first couple weeks, and for a while I totally lost my QWERTY touch-typing ability, but in the end I've had no trouble at all making the switch.

Posted
by
kdawsonon Monday November 03, 2008 @09:11PM
from the save-the-earth-and-keep-more-of-your-fingers dept.

mallumax notes Amazon's new Frustration-Free Packaging initiative. Over several years the retailer hopes to convince many of its suppliers to offer consumer-friendlier packaging. It's starting with just 19 products from Mattel, Fisher-Price, Microsoft, and Transcend. Until this program spreads to more products, better get one of these (ThinkGeek and Slashdot share a corporate overlord). From Amazon's announcement: "The Frustration-Free Package is recyclable and comes without excess packaging materials such as hard plastic clamshell casings, plastic bindings, and wire ties. It's designed to be opened without the use of a box cutter or knife and will protect your product just as well as traditional packaging. Products with Frustration-Free Packaging can frequently be shipped in their own boxes, without an additional shipping box. Amazon works directly with manufacturers to box products in Frustration-Free Packages right off the assembly lines, which reduces the overall amount of packing materials used."